Tomorrow
by GoldenSunshineLight
Summary: Sometimes, you need to set aside the greater good in order to save yourself. It might be selfish and un-heroic, but sometimes it's simply necessary.


**A/N: I know I've been gone for months, but _life _has just been happening and I've been dealing with it. **

**I must confess that I'm not fully caught up with _Arrow_, but from what I've seen, I'm not too happy with the direction the show has taken and my displeasure really isn't about Oliver not being with Felicity; there are just too many moments in which I find myself getting annoyed with some of the characters. It's part of the reason that I haven't been writing on my other stories...**

**On to the story... This is just a little story that is meant as a one-shot. I just feel like something like this would be good for Felicity. She seems to be utterly surrounded by heroes that put their heroism first, and while I have no problem with that, I feel like she wouldn't be able to continue her life the way it currently is...**

**Without further commentary...here it is. **

* * *

There is only so much that one person can take. Everyone has a breaking point. She had ignored all the warning signs. She had allowed herself to believe that she could change things—that _she _would be enough. She wasn't enough. She knew that now.

She had become more than just an IT girl. She had helped save lives and she liked it, but in saving the lives of others, she was ignoring herself. Her life needed saving too and she could ignore that fact no longer. Sometimes, you need to set aside the greater good in order to save yourself. It might be selfish and un-heroic, but sometimes it's simply necessary.

She'd fallen for Oliver and he'd chosen the Arrow over Oliver Queen. She'd fallen for Ray and then he'd gone and become the Atom. They're efforts were heroic ones—valiant and commendable, but they left little room for a normal life. That was fine for them, but it wasn't fine for her. Her life was constantly being put on hold and she lived every day in this unrealistic world of heroes—heck even her best friend had become the fastest hero alive.

She read over her letter of resignation once more, glancing at the job offer that was pulled up on her computer screen. Nodding to herself, she pushed away from her desk and walked to Ray's office. She took solace in the knowledge that at least the inevitable talk with Ray, following the letter, would not be accompanied by an uncomfortable break-up conversation. She'd put their relationship on hold some time ago, so there was no real need to 'break up.'

A breath of relief escaped her as she saw that Ray was not in his office. With quick strides she made her way to his desk, folded the paper, placing it between some files, and then quickly made her way out. She felt like a coward as she snatched up her bag and coat and all but ran to the elevator, but she didn't want to talk to Ray just then. She would face it all tomorrow when she came in for work again.

* * *

"Hey," Oliver said softly as she entered the Foundry.

"Hi," she replied, biting her lip. Quitting her job was easy, but quitting 'Team Arrow'—because yes, despite Oliver's protests, she called it that and that is what it would always be—was another matter entirely. She hadn't quite figured that one out yet…

"How was work?"

She was acutely aware of the fact that he had stopped sparing with the training dummy to talk to her, and she wished, for once that he would just continue. Firing up her computers, she twirled her chair nonchalantly, trying to mask her nerves. "Fine." He smiled that soft smile that she loved and she panicked. "H—H—How was your day?"

His brows drew together instantly and he came to stand inches from her, bending down to place his hands on the armrests of her chair. "What's wrong?"

As one part of her brain mentally kicked itself for the nervous stammering, the other part scrambled to compose her features and make the next words to come out of her mouth, sound at least adequately convincing. "Nothing. Nothing is wrong. Why do you ask?"

He leaned in instinctively to better survey her face and intimidate her into telling him the truth. There was an involuntary flutter in her stomach and her heartbeat sped up slightly. She absently wondered if that would ever change—if he would ever be unable to affect her.

"Felicity? What's wrong?"

She sighed. She had tried to make the sound an exasperated one, but it came out as more of a nervous shaky sigh. "Nothing Oliver, really…I'm fine."

"Felicity…" He began in a warning tone. And in an instant, his expression shifted from one of concern to one of utter rage. "If he's responsible I will _kill _him."

Felicity blinked. "Who—What? Responsible for what?"

"If Ray is the reason that—"

"No, Oliver. It has nothing to do with Ray. It's just one of those days…"

He nodded curtly, straightening himself and taking a few breaths in order to soften his expression. "How about Big Belly Burger then? To cheer you up…," he said after a moment of silence.

She contemplated it for a moment. Being alone with Oliver at a restaurant was probably the worst idea, considering the fact that she _should _have been telling him about how she was going to start a new life somewhere that _wasn't _Starling City, but perhaps one more normal night with Oliver wouldn't hurt. "Sure."

"Good," he said smiling. "Wait here while I quickly freshen up and we'll go."

While she waited, she stared aimlessly at the screen of the computer, trying to think of ways she would tell Oliver about her plans. She wouldn't ruin their night tonight, but she would have to tell him tomorrow. Each and every scenario ended the same way: with a shattered Oliver and a shattered Felicity. There was no way around it, she realized.

"Ready?"

The sound of his voice roughly pulled her out of her thoughts and she jumped. "How many times have I asked you to keep your ninja skills reserved for the bad guys?" She asked, throwing him a mock glare, "Do I _look _like a bad guy?"

He chuckled, grabbing her coat and holding it out for her. "I don't know…looks can be deceiving Miss Smoak."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah…save the speech."

* * *

"How's Thea?" She asked when they were seated in their favorite booth.

"She's good…as good as she can be. It will take time, but she'll be okay. I'm going to make sure of that."

She smiled at the protective and determined tone his voice had adopted. "Good."

Miraculously, they managed to get through waiting for their food, without talking about work, or the Foundry. Oliver tortured her instead, with questions about her mother. When their food arrived however, her phone rang and Ray's picture illuminated the screen. Felicity didn't miss the glare that Oliver threw at the phone, and she couldn't help the butterflies that came with it. She knew that, if she was lucky, Ray hadn't found the note in-between the files and he was just calling to talk, but there was a possibility that he _had _found it, so she ignored it. She didn't miss the small smirk of satisfaction that Oliver tried to hide when she pressed 'ignore,' and that too sent a few butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

Just as she knew it would, the guilt sprang up inside her and she wanted to burst out with the truth. She wanted to tell Oliver that she couldn't take it anymore, that she needed to take care of herself, that she had found a job, that she would be looking for an apartment soon, and that she would be starting over just as she had when she had decided to be the opposite of her mother all those years ago. At the same time, she wanted to throw all those plans away and stay—for him, for Ray, for Roy, for Diggle, and for Thea. She sighed, reminding herself that she had already made up her mind and that the wheel was already in motion.

"Felicity?"

"Hmm? What?"

Oliver watched her intently; putting placing the fry that he held between two fingers right back into his plate to show that he meant business. He was on to her. "I asked how things were going with Ray and you blanked out…"

"Hmm…Oh. Sorry. I guess I didn't tell you then."

"Tell me what?"

"We put our relationship on hold some time ago—I put it on hold. We've been so busy with the city that I must have forgotten to tell you—not that I owed you that information, but we are friends and I guess that's the sort of thing that you tell your friends."

Oliver resumed eating his fries. "Yeah…that's the kind of thing that you tell—" He stopped, mid-setence, taking a breath before he began a new one, "Why did you put your relationship on hold?"

She bit her lip. She hadn't told him about Ray's suit and she was still not sure that that had been a good decision. She _wanted _to tell Oliver, but it felt like the ultimate betrayal to Ray. "I—He is very focused on his work right now, so I thought it would be better if we put _us _on hold."

"Oh..."

"Yeah." She cleared her throat, "So how's Roy doing? He seems like he's getting better in the field."

They spent the remainder of their dinner talking about different things. It was nice. They hadn't done anything normal in a while. When they had finished, Oliver drove her back to the Foundry. They ended up going upstairs to the Verdant and simply drinking.

At some point during the night, Ray's calls became consecutive and non-stop. "He _really _wants to talk to you," Oliver said grinning wildly as he swayed slightly in his seat.

"I guess hedooesss.."she slurred.

Oliver chuckled loudly. "Give me the phone," he said holding out his hand. She shook her head, pressing her lips together in a vain attempt to hold back a smile. "Give me the phone," he repeated.

She shook her head again. "You're drunk…youandphone…baaaddd idea."

He smiled, leaning over to reach behind her and take the phone from where she hid it behind her back. He almost slipped from his seat, but he caught his balance at the last minute and took the phone from her. She tried to hold in her laugh as he answered the phone.

"Hello? This is not Felicity."

She laughed loudly at that.

"Yes, she's here…buuuttt she's drunk."

"Ha! You're one to talk!" She exclaimed.

"Shhhh...Felicity. I'm _trying _to talk. Sorry Ray, go on." He listened intently, squinting his eyes as if the gesture would aid his hearing. "No. Sorry…She'll call you back tomorrow. She's reallywaaaay too drunk to come to the phoneright now…_Bye!_"

She threw her head back, laughing along with Oliver. She would face Ray tomorrow. She would tell Oliver tomorrow. She would do that which was best for her. She would start anew. She would allow herself to enjoy this moment and do it all... _tomorrow_.

* * *

**A/N: So there it is! Let me know what you think. :) It's meant as a one-shot (I may continue with another chapter or two though).**


End file.
